The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has approved over 60,000 new teaching positions even as it gave the green light to provide funding for teachers being redeployed from schools with excess teacher items to areas with shortages.

DBM has made available 61,510 new teacher items for fiscal year 2013 as the Department of Education (DepEd) keeps pace with demand for teachers on account of increasing enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

“We welcome the opening of new teacher items and the provision of teacher redeployment allowance as part of the government’s continuing effort to rationalize teacher placement in all public schools across the country,” says Secretary of Education Armin Luistro.

Based on DepEd Order No. 23, series of 2013, teachers to be redeployed shall receive a one-time redeployment allowance of P18,000. Only teachers who are coming from schools with excess teacher item and are being redeployed to schools with teacher shortage shall receive the redeployment allowance.

School heads of schools with identified excess teachers should prepare an inventory of teaching staff that contains information on the grade/year level being handled and subject being taught by the excess teacher and ranked in ascending order (the first in the list being the most junior).

Any teacher from schools with excess teacher items may express willingness to be redeployed by writing a letter of intent to their respective division/city superintendents. The superintendents can also identify teachers from the surplus list and may require these excess teachers to be redeployed to schools with shortage.